....and it is not just the "aging population" here. Since the advent of the chicken pox vaccine, kids don't get the illness as much anymore (almost always a mild, flu like illness with the old "badge of honor" rash. But that granted lifelong immunity from a virus that likely would never rear its head again -- except for that terrible, painful rash that can reemerge as "shingles". And there is a shingles epidemic since the era of the chicklen pox vaccine has dawned that is seemingly "hard to explain" -- or so say the experts tht want everyone vaccinated. But a closer look shows that the

...yes, the big shot of Ronin, Casino, and Heist. The Raging Bull got castrated by the vaccine industry who are the REAL heavies. It's not the movies, anymore, Robert...these folks play for keeps. And you caved. Please stick to comedies from now on.

An interesting perspective from the American College of Pediatricians supplies us with some common sense that might balance the forces of campus correctness that distress us when choosing which locker room or shower to use. Here the smaller (and more conservative) American College of Pediatricians states categorically that girls are girls and boys are boys (at least when it comes to gender -- not sexual orientation). Dialogue here is very important, epecially when it supported by some science.

Most people are now aware of the medical benefits of constituents in the marijuana plant. But not too many people in the US understand the diference between "THC" (tetrahydrocannabinol), the mood altering and occasionally hallucinogenic part of marijuana that is the source of being "stoned", and canabidiol, aka, "CBD." Many a songwriter and lead guitarist might owe some of that creative artistry to the former substance. But both are involved with the so-called "endocannabinoid" system -- a complex network of long chain fatty acids, receptors, and enzymes that influences many processes su

This very erudite piece was written by one of my good friends and admired medical philosophers, Bob Geist MD, a retired St Paul urologist, who saw thru the current health reform long before Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar failed to read the bill they voted on. Anyone who has had an angry moment over how health care is run, where all the money goes, and who is playing the charade on them really must read this piece titled, "Profiteering at the Patient's Bedside."

A couple of months ago one of my favorite editorial journalists, Charles Krauthammer, took it upon himself to opine upon the “silliness” of the “gluten free food fad”. He did concede that at best, occasionally, “even a placebo can be helpful”. Sigh. I do love and respect this amazing physician journalist who has overcome a devastating spinal cord injury to become one of the more respected minds in political culture despite having to operate from

...that so many of us use at the behest of our trusted medical consultants in the local primary care clinic. Yes, Prilosec and Nexium will put the fire out that so many have as a result of ill advised eating, over-eating, and a number of other factors lost on the medical establishment. But the implications -- long suspected -- on the rest of one's biology are almost never considered. At least it is very certain that most are never told that the delicate ecology of the microbiome will be defiled significantly with a host of bad outcomes.

Arguably, the arrival of Toyota, Honda, and the VW Beetle signaled the beginning of the end of the Detroit era in auto manufacturing. Oil shortages, costs, unions, and other factors all played into it. "Modern Healthcare" is about to undergo the same metamorphosis before our eyes. But instead of little cars and gas shortages, it will fueled with new information and the exposing of myths.

The Borrelia blood culture, a test pioneered by Advanced Laboratories in Philadelphia in 2011, has now been approved by the Joint Commission. Although this laboratory accreditation still awaits FDA approval, this is a major step in the ongoing need to legitimize a reliable test for Lyme disease. The blood culture properly performed with a 16 week incubation. His upwards of 90% sensitive and specific for the disease.

This past weekend in the WSJ, there was a very concise review of a body of work done more than 2 decades ago providing some general recognition for sane dietary principles much more consistent with human health than the gibberish we have been fed by the American Dietetic Association, General Mills, etc. Altho Lorain Cordain PhD did by far more work than either Eaton or Konner (cited in the article) it is refreshing to see that the knowledge base has trickled down to the level it has. Physicians -- now with rare exceptions almost all "